Scan barcode
zombiezami's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
I love this failgirl vampire
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation
Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Misogyny, Racism, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Drug use and Alcohol
kesteiner's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was a really interesting take on vampires and I loved the incorporation of different cultures and their folklore into the plot. It was also interesting to see such a realistic portrayal of the world and Lydia felt like an incredibly well-developed character. My biggest qualm with this book though is just that not much actually happened and sometimes I found myself kinda bored. Overall a good read though!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
christinaanna's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Eating disorder, and Blood
Moderate: Cancer, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
kavmat's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
What an interesting read! I've never experienced such gore-y, yet casual, language that encompasses this woman and creature's experience. Such a feeling, to be lost in Lydia's thoughts and monologues of life and servitude to our identities and nature. Easily one of my most interesting reads of the year and such a satisfying end to the mundane pace of life presented to us. Please don't get me wrong, the book is exceptional, particularly in the way we experience the mundane process of what is only, maybe, a week of this woman's life.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder and Sexual harassment
raychelbennet's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Blood
Moderate: Animal death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment
jillaay_h's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Sexual harassment
mahtzahgay's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
Original rating was 2.75 stars, but I made a statement at the beginning that if the book didn't live up to the review on the blurb ("What Stoker did for the vampire at the end of the nineteenth century, Claire Kohda does for it in our era" – TLS) I would on principle remove a full star from the final rating. Ergo, this book is a solid 1.75 stars.
I really wanted to like Woman, Eating. I was hoping for a fresh take on the vampire genre, and one that would rid it of the embarrassing modern legacy of contemporary vampiric romance and YA trash that, peace and love, spat on both the allure and legacy of the vampire that Camilla and Dracula started.
And listen. It's certainly not the worst book I've read, and by far it is not the worst vampire book I've read. I did, however, grow very tired of the trite and overused playbook of modern-take-on-a-genre-or-literary-classic that makes an attempt at mild social commentary, but ultimately leaves much to be desired within the realm of anything harsher than a "maybe colonialism bad 🧐 Are men who are misogynys and sex pests the REAL monsters 🤯🤯🤯". Like, girl, put some cunt into your undertones & overtones, and be just a touch bolder. Especially if you're going to plaster your book with reviews that praise your 'profoundness' and 'blistering' 'thought-provoking' work. The only 'blistering' part of this entire experience was from my eyes rolling out of their sockets from the over-used and uninspired mommy-daughter issues trope.
It's better than Twilight. That's not a hard bar to pass, though.
I really wanted to like Woman, Eating. I was hoping for a fresh take on the vampire genre, and one that would rid it of the embarrassing modern legacy of contemporary vampiric romance and YA trash that, peace and love, spat on both the allure and legacy of the vampire that Camilla and Dracula started.
And listen. It's certainly not the worst book I've read, and by far it is not the worst vampire book I've read. I did, however, grow very tired of the trite and overused playbook of modern-take-on-a-genre-or-literary-classic that makes an attempt at mild social commentary, but ultimately leaves much to be desired within the realm of anything harsher than a "maybe colonialism bad 🧐 Are men who are misogynys and sex pests the REAL monsters 🤯🤯🤯". Like, girl, put some cunt into your undertones & overtones, and be just a touch bolder. Especially if you're going to plaster your book with reviews that praise your 'profoundness' and 'blistering' 'thought-provoking' work. The only 'blistering' part of this entire experience was from my eyes rolling out of their sockets from the over-used and uninspired mommy-daughter issues trope.
It's better than Twilight. That's not a hard bar to pass, though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, and Rape
legs_n_chins's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
There’s this interesting feeling I have of feeling fulfilled by how deeply I related to the story, but also feeling abruptly cut off because the resolution felt very underdone. Being mixed race myself, so much of Lydia’s thoughts and feelings and internal conflicts resonated with me: wanting desperately to connect to the side of her identity that she felt very isolated from, feeling removed from other people because of her identity, feeling like it had to be one or the other and never both. But something just didn’t fit right about the conclusion of these feelings, maybe because it felt sort of oddly sudden.
I definitely recognize all the pieces throughout the story that add up to Lyd’s ultimate resolution. Experiencing food through YouTube videos of other people cooking and eating, the sexual encounter, moments of purely feminine fear and discomfort; it’s a definite clear through line that Kohda communicates very well. But I guess it just felt odd to me that she finds some measure of peace immediately after attempting to completely annihilate one side of herself. It just feels like there was more work to do in the aftermath. Her mental state was very unhealthy and there’s so much emphasis on the lingering effects of her childhood; I think it’s not so much that her resolution felt out of nowhere and more just that it felt suddenly very easy. To me, anyway, as someone who’s come to a happy place in understanding my own identity, but still deals with a lot of the ripple effects of how conflicted I’ve felt throughout my life. I understand the story had to come to an end at some point, and this conclusion is likely stronger because it doesn’t deal with the ongoing process that is living with acceptance and maintaining that feeling, but I just felt it was abrupt,
Allllllllllll of that aside, I really enjoyed Kohda’s writing. While at times it did seem to meander through Lyd’s inner monologue, it was still entertaining to read and relevant to the topic. It lent more personality to Lyd and gave us a better sense of her voice and character. So even in the places I thought were a little overwritten, it was more like a character choice than a lack of ability to self-edit. I also liked the how Kohda managed to balance very straightforward word choice with a sort of lyrical style that really fit into this world of art that she was building. I’ll admit I’m kind of dense about art, so I don’t know if all of the metaphors made through the art totally clicked for me, but I did like what Kohda was saying through the lens of art as a profession and art as a commercial material. I do wish we’d gotten more background on what Lyd had wanted to do while in art school and more about the pieces she’d made and what had compelled her, but I recognize that wasn’t the real central point for her character. It just felt like it could’ve given her more of another dimension (not that she was two dimensional in any way, just that it would’ve been nice to see more).
I really liked the other characters, what little we did see of them. Despite their rather brief inclusions, aside from Ben, the other artists really felt well thought out and fully realized. They were warm the way a good character can feel and they fit right in their surroundings and in Lyd’s story. I had hoped Lyd and Shakti might have more interaction, especially as she seemed like an important piece to the line of Lyd being forced to reconcile feminine experiences as a human, but it didn’t feel like anything was really left out in that case. Just due to the timeline of the story, it makes much more sense that the interaction there was left more surface level.
And on that note, I also liked how Kohda handled those moment of feminine fear and discomfort. Being sexualized, being preyed upon. They’re authentic experiences that are shared among far too many women, but they’re not escalated to feeling like exploitation just to get a point across. The point is made just fine through very short, seemingly brief, encounters. Lyd can’t help but linger on them, feel shame about them, etc. And I think that makes it all the better for commenting on the human condition and relating it to Lyd’s character struggles: any level of predation is scary and upsetting. And it’s an unfortunate human experience forced upon women and female presenting people.
Overall, everything came together so well in this book. It was a really impactful read for me and, happily, in a style I really love. I love a good, meaty character narrative and this definitely fit the bill. For how short it is, it covers a lot of ground and I think that’s a great testament to Kohda’s skill. I just wish the conclusion didn’t leave me feeling a bit empty.
I definitely recognize all the pieces throughout the story that add up to Lyd’s ultimate resolution. Experiencing food through YouTube videos of other people cooking and eating, the sexual encounter, moments of purely feminine fear and discomfort; it’s a definite clear through line that Kohda communicates very well. But I guess it just felt odd to me that she finds some measure of peace immediately after attempting to completely annihilate one side of herself. It just feels like there was more work to do in the aftermath. Her mental state was very unhealthy and there’s so much emphasis on the lingering effects of her childhood; I think it’s not so much that her resolution felt out of nowhere and more just that it felt suddenly very easy. To me, anyway, as someone who’s come to a happy place in understanding my own identity, but still deals with a lot of the ripple effects of how conflicted I’ve felt throughout my life. I understand the story had to come to an end at some point, and this conclusion is likely stronger because it doesn’t deal with the ongoing process that is living with acceptance and maintaining that feeling, but I just felt it was abrupt,
Allllllllllll of that aside, I really enjoyed Kohda’s writing. While at times it did seem to meander through Lyd’s inner monologue, it was still entertaining to read and relevant to the topic. It lent more personality to Lyd and gave us a better sense of her voice and character. So even in the places I thought were a little overwritten, it was more like a character choice than a lack of ability to self-edit. I also liked the how Kohda managed to balance very straightforward word choice with a sort of lyrical style that really fit into this world of art that she was building. I’ll admit I’m kind of dense about art, so I don’t know if all of the metaphors made through the art totally clicked for me, but I did like what Kohda was saying through the lens of art as a profession and art as a commercial material. I do wish we’d gotten more background on what Lyd had wanted to do while in art school and more about the pieces she’d made and what had compelled her, but I recognize that wasn’t the real central point for her character. It just felt like it could’ve given her more of another dimension (not that she was two dimensional in any way, just that it would’ve been nice to see more).
I really liked the other characters, what little we did see of them. Despite their rather brief inclusions, aside from Ben, the other artists really felt well thought out and fully realized. They were warm the way a good character can feel and they fit right in their surroundings and in Lyd’s story. I had hoped Lyd and Shakti might have more interaction, especially as she seemed like an important piece to the line of Lyd being forced to reconcile feminine experiences as a human, but it didn’t feel like anything was really left out in that case. Just due to the timeline of the story, it makes much more sense that the interaction there was left more surface level.
And on that note, I also liked how Kohda handled those moment of feminine fear and discomfort. Being sexualized, being preyed upon. They’re authentic experiences that are shared among far too many women, but they’re not escalated to feeling like exploitation just to get a point across. The point is made just fine through very short, seemingly brief, encounters. Lyd can’t help but linger on them, feel shame about them, etc. And I think that makes it all the better for commenting on the human condition and relating it to Lyd’s character struggles: any level of predation is scary and upsetting. And it’s an unfortunate human experience forced upon women and female presenting people.
Overall, everything came together so well in this book. It was a really impactful read for me and, happily, in a style I really love. I love a good, meaty character narrative and this definitely fit the bill. For how short it is, it covers a lot of ground and I think that’s a great testament to Kohda’s skill. I just wish the conclusion didn’t leave me feeling a bit empty.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Self harm, Blood, Dementia, Grief, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Body horror, Cancer, Eating disorder, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts
bengami's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I adored this book, the lower rating is for multiple parts where the main character would tell not show, which was my biggest grief with this book. But I loved the exploration of vampirism & immortal loneliness, it read as an uncomfortable & bloody coming of age/a thought experiment on what vampires would actually be like, and the mother-daughter dynamic was well-executed and beautiful. If you feel like you are losing interest in part two, continue to part three, that’s when I really started enjoying the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Blood, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Colonisation
maxattack's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
This reminded me of “Our Wives Under The Sea” by Julia Armfield,
in that it has elements of horror, while the mood definitely leans more weird and melancholic rather than scary.
It was very well-written, so I don’t feel comfortable giving it a low rating, however I personally wasn’t super invested.
The right person will love this book.
in that it has elements of horror, while the mood definitely leans more weird and melancholic rather than scary.
It was very well-written, so I don’t feel comfortable giving it a low rating, however I personally wasn’t super invested.
The right person will love this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder
Moderate: Racism, Blood, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Stalking